


One Fist Brings Snowfall, The Other A Drink

by SonOfDysonSphere



Category: Touhou Project
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:26:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonOfDysonSphere/pseuds/SonOfDysonSphere
Summary: It is time to bring the Deva of the Mountain back together, starting with this one fantastic contest...





	One Fist Brings Snowfall, The Other A Drink

The snowline atop Gensokyo’s mountain ranges had descended steadily beneath each day’s cloud banks rolling across them like deceptively slow danmaku patterns. Too soon into the coldest months to tell whether the inexorable shift of seasons would bring frozen dangers or sweeping lethargy, the ancient beings and human farmers of Gensokyo alike possessed the foresight to know a snowfall coating the lands stretching from the bamboo forest to the misty lake was imminent. The birds and youkai birds and insects and youkai insects likewise were eerily silent in anticipation of the coming change. Stocks of food and alcohol were checked, before a double check of the sake stocks was taken in the spirit of thorough preparation.

Such was the prelude to the winter of a year that was incredibly eventful. During one of the myriad of incidents, Suika Ibuki had been pleasantly surprised to find out her old friend Yuugi Hoshiguma still resided in the Underground City. Not long after that incident had been resolved Suika had sent a message inviting the other Oni to meet her in a long forgotten clearing on a particular mountain at the first snowfall.

Months passed in drunken stupor and suppressed anticipation, but finally the time of their reunion was at hand.

As the grey canopy began to lightly let loose a forgettable falling of feeble flakes no larger than the smallest comfortable size Suika could take on, the small Oni sat on a lonely and ancient tree stump near-centre to the clearing she had written her friend about. Tens of minutes passed in relative silence, mixed with the wonderment of if her friend would show, before Suika decided it was time to take a swig from her near endless gourd. The bottom of the gourd pointed towards the heavens as it poured into Suika’s mouth in tandem to a noticeable shift in the wind and falling snow.

Falling off the stump and onto her back, Suika bore witness to an incredibly strong punch and muscular calves. Finishing quenching herself before grinning, sake dribbling down the side of her face, Suika sprung feet over head passed the opening strike in an attempt to get behind her assailant.

No such luck.

The break between attacks was hardly large enough for Suika to tie her gourd to her belt before her wide chested opponent continued the attack with two broad downward straight punches, one impacting the ground directly after the other. A deft spin to the side among two plumes of frosty dirt gave Suika enough time to read her enemy and she followed up on the dodge with a quick and hard back flip. One muscular leg caught nothing but air as it kicked upwards, shaking the trees at the edge of the clearing and frightening one concealed bird to take flight despite its better instinct to remain hidden.

Finally prepared to counterattack, Suika added as much density as possible behind her first right hook, her fist colliding with her opponent’s in an incredibly telling moment. The shock wave of the impact flew outward toward the heavens, resounding throughout trees and clouds alike, shaking the first real snowfall unseen as of yet from clouds above.

Rescinding her numb knuckles from the point of impact, Suika Ibuki and her aggressor, Yuugi Hoshiguma finally connected their gazes, both with smiles broader than the glade where they fought. The trees around the clearing and the ground alike shook as Yuugi delivered an incredible straight punch of strength unknown towards Suika, who disappeared from sight instantly with a light pop. The errant punch by Yuugi dug a half foot trench for a distance despite not connecting with anything solid.

Suika reappeared the next second, expanding to her regular size and delivering an uppercut to her opponent’s jaw. The impact of her fist meshing with Yuugi’s jaw like stone and concrete, Suika found herself reeling, the top teeth in her mouth doing their best to crush her bottom teeth. Her attack not going as planned, Suika realized the vulnerable position she had left herself in. Off-balance with her weight thrown desperately upwards, Suika knew the straight punch that was invariable coming towards her wasn’t going to be kind.

She was right.

Suika’s shoulder colliding with the ground dozens of feet back was the first impact and a slow motion video camera from the outside world would be able to properly and fully document the journey she took beyond that. Foot, hand, leg, arm, hip, shoulder, stomach, and chin impacting multiple times in rapid succession, several unfortunate trees fell over from the unfortunate fate of being in Suika’s skipping flight path dozens of meters long. Birds that had been nesting there scattered.

‘Craters of ones’ own design are the most comfortable and the easiest to overcome.’ With the thought of some wisdom heard long past, Suika dragged herself out of the depression of dirt, leaves, and splinters, far from her original starting point. Eyes locking on Yuugi, who was already fast approaching, Suika sluggishly got herself moving to intercept.

It was about halfway towards her challenger when Suika began to feel different, her feet feeling lighter and her vision focused. It was not unlike a cleansing bath after a night of drinking, but in this case the drinking had been much longer than a single night, and the bath that much stronger. The crisp caress of the winter air, mixed with the oppressive grey canopy above and the crunch of the dead grass underfoot was all much clearer to Suika now, like an unknown fog had been lifted. The clarity nearly caused her to panic, as the daunting reality of her opponent’s strength truly set in as the distance between them became near zero.

On a stage with no audience save for frightened animals and the myriad of snow flakes now finally making their appearance, the two Oni brought their test of strength to a climax.

Suika’s opening punch went under Yuugi’s, bringing the smaller Oni inside the larger one’s reach. Two impacts landed on Yuugi’s ribs before she struck upward with her knee up to keep the smaller Oni back, but that attempt met a deft downward elbow. On and on they went with a flurry of attack, dodges, and counters with neither backing down. The hit count flew into the hundreds, possibly thousands, before both Oni finally hit the ground beside one another in exhaustion.

The laboured breath of both women created short lived clouds of condensation that mingled with the falling snow, which was reaching the capacity to remain on the ground without melting away. Sore and bruised already, Suika couldn’t begin to imagine how she would feel in the coming days.

“For a second there..” Yuugi broke the silence, finally speaking, but stopped mid-sentence for a breath. ”I thought you weren’t… going…to give me a challenge…”

“I remember…your fist being…heavier than that…” Suika laboured out a chuckle in response, with a like response from her cherished companion, their heartfelt laughter growing to fill the clearing.

After their battered bodies could laugh no more, the two Oni moved to get back on their feet.

“Heurgh…” Suika found parts of herself stubborn to move the way she wanted them to and was unable to get up. A strong hand grasped her forearm, pulling Suika to her feet, which hesitated before steadying beneath her.

“And you seem lighter than I remember.” Yuugi joked as the two of them locked their eyes and grip together, bringing them dangerously close to inciting their challenge of strength once more. The tension rose quickly before Yuugi looked down at Suika’s waist.

“Is your gourd alright?”

Suika moved to check on her gourd, releasing her hold on Yuugi’s forearm. The special item was still in one piece and Suika remembered it would take a lot more to destroy such a creation.

“It’s fine-”

Yuugi had already started walking away, her distraction from their conflict successful. Taking a path that led to a far off side of the clearing, Suika followed Yuugi now, the unique limps of the two Oni creating uneven tracks in the light blanket of snow already in place. Reaching a treeline at the edge of the glade, Yuugi retrieved a fine silk sack dotted with snowflakes from behind a tree. A big grin blessed the larger Oni’s face as she revealed the contents:

A stunningly crafted sake plate, with ornate paintings of contesting Oni fighting through every season underneath a canopy of stars. Suika had not laid eyes on the incredible sake dish, so well cared for, in many years. In comparison, her endless gourd was well travelled, without leaks but still chipped and worn.

The two Oni returned to the centre of the clearing where the aged tree stump had endured their conflict. Taking a seat beside each other, the companions set out their sake artifacts on the stump and prepared for the second stage of their challenge.

The plate was large but the gourd held more.

Several snowflakes doomed their existence into the platter, joining the sake from Suika’s endless gourd being purified by Yuugi’s dish. The two smiled at each other in anticipation as the long awaited combination of their items was enacted before them. The aroma from the sake met their nostrils and, in tandem, they both reached for the first drink.

A flicker of a moment passed between them before Suika allowed the other Oni to take the first drink. Several sips bordering on slurps and the exquisite dish was passed to Suika. Unsatisfied with the amount that remained, Suika refilled the plate and waited for it to work its magic, eyeing down Yuugi the entire time as if to say:

'You leftovers are insufficient to me.’

When it was time, Suika Ibuki, more practised than any being in Gensokyo at consuming alcohol (and that was quite the claim), downed the entire contents of the bowl in a rapid but efficient manner, the heavenly smooth sake an easy fair for one such as her. Suika’s gaze had not left the Oni sitting beside her, as she set the dish down and refilled it once more, this time the liquid flirted disastrously with the top lip.

Yuugi’s fatigued hands struggled to keep the dish steady towards her own mouth to prevent spillage as the smaller Oni watched in anticipation of a victory. Carefully and with more care than the star-horned Oni usually exerted, the sake dish was brought to her mouth, and the long process of draining its contents began. In short, Yuugi nearly drowned herself on dry land from the attempt, holding back an embattled cough at the end.

Suika seemed pleased by her beloved rivals attempt, refilling the platter when it was replaced on the stump after Yuugi’s bold try to keep pace. A minute passed in silence between the Oni as the snow found its way to the ground all across Gensokyo, thanks to the efforts of both those present in the drinking contest.

And then it happened.

Suika took the entirely full dish of sake and hard chugged it back, some of the contents spilling off the side. Yuugi found herself disgusted with the weak effort until she noticed every single drop that dribbled off Suika’s chin was then caught with the gourd and poured back into the dish she drank from. This spectacle went on for minutes before Suika’s gourd was empty for the near future. Yuugi couldn’t help but express her impressed reaction with both clapping and cheering.

Then Suika fell drunkenly into Yuugi’s lap.

It was already quite clear who was the better drinker, and while the fight was close, a sober Suika, if such a being existed, would tell you Yuugi always won that category. So now the two Oni remained in the ancient glade, with only each other and the oncoming snow as company.

The sake dish was passed between the two, with Suika finding a nice snow viewing spot on Yuugi’s lap, and the sake platter never running low.

“Suika, why do you keep such a small size? Your reach could be so much better when fighting….” Yuugi proposed with slurred words.

The snow was in full bluster now, a downfall people that lived closer to the equator would call a blizzard.

“I dunno.” Suika’s reply was accompanied by a drunken movement to get tighter into the warm embrace of Yuugi. “This size has just always felt to be the right one….”

Suika’s words were likewise plagued with intoxication, but Yuugi could do nothing to contradict them, instead embracing the smaller Oni to keep them both warm from the gathering cold as they shared their combined perfect drink until unconsciousness…


End file.
